#211 - I predict a riot (genetically speaking)

The one-minute healthtech roundup brought to you by SomX.

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Hi friends,

This week: Darzi reports on the state of the NHS, red flags on genomic data in health, and can we predict hypertension based on voice patterns?

Love healthtech, hate reading? 👀 Listen to the Healthtech Pigeon podcast ➡️ James and Huw from SomX breakdown the best stories from this week’s newsletter, with help from Together Digital’s Liam Cahill. Available now on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

News Bites 🥪

🔭 Darzi NHS report: Key points from landmark review of the health service — Holding the same appeal to health system and healthtech nerds as a new TayTay album drop does for Swifties*, the release of Lord Darzi’s report, ‘Independent investigation of the NHS in England’ (pithy title, no?), has got everybody talking about the state of the NHS and how to fix it.

♀ Women's health unicorn Maven Clinic is raising over $100 million from PE firm StepStone – BIg news as a women’s health unicorn seeks to add a substantial cash injection – while there’s plenty still in the air, Pigeon can’t help but be surprised, given Maven’s recent round of new launches, acquisitions and expansions. 

💍 Oura has acquired metabolic health startup Veri – With nothing in common with Dark Lord Sauron other than a shared love of forging powerful rings, Oura has acquired Veri as part of an ecosystem play to bring metabolic health data into its wider product suite, with the Oura app at the centre. We’re holding off on saying they got peer-pressured into the acquisition, but from all accounts, competitor launches of over the counter glucose monitors do appear to have helped nudge things forward.

🧬 NHS warned on rollout of AI-powered genomic health prediction – A second stark warning on genomic prediction to NHS planners, this one about the risk of the use of predictive tools that rely on genomic data for wide scale health planning. For the Ada Lovelace institute, the risk of your insurer discriminating against you, a lack of public appetite, and concerns around data handling are the top of the table of reasons why genomics and public health might not be great bedfellows.

🎢 Government plans for NHS Digital Health Check roll-out – The final story in this week’s NHS trilogy comes with the news that the NHS Digital Health check (itself an app-based version of the existing health check) will be offered in an extended pilot form at the beginning of next year, with those answering offered health and lifestyle advice, or a GP appointment depending on the answers they give.

📊 Ireland is worst in EU for e-health, but HIQA survey provides way forward – Presumably Brexit was solely manufactured so that the UK could avoid the shame of appearing in the table (Pigeon is joking – Britain tends to rank quite highly in these things). Our neighbours across the Irish Sea however have some catching up to do apparently.

🗣️ Scientists develop stunning AI to predict blood pressure from voice – A fascinating development in predictive analytics, or a solution in search of a problem. If Pigeon’s honest (we’re often honest, serious? Less so), we’re struggling to see the value now, but who knows….maybe in the future. We’re happy for our misconceptions to be corrected…so please, @ us with your ideas.

🍆 Would you trust AI to scan your genitals for STIs? – Last month, Pigeon got flustered over a story about the app detecting STDs using below-the-belt selfies. However, that story’s AiSTI app is just one example of someone trying to solve this problem (if we can call it that). Here’s where it gets interesting: another app-developer is being investigated by the FDA for allegedly making its own misleading claims. This article asks if the tech is possible, or whether it’s all just b*ll*cks (and photos of them).

Learning 🧑‍🏫

❌ SomX Academy: How Policy Impacts Healthtech – What Every Founder Should Know — If the Darzi report has inspired, nudged or enraged you enough to think bigger than just your customer relationships, then now’s the time to start building your understanding of how policy on healthcare and healthtech, whether national, regional or local, can affect you. SomX’s James Somauroo shares some tips and reflections from a recent conversation with the Health Foundation’s Malte Gerhold.

What to listen to 🔊

Events 📅

How do we design digitally enabled services that are inclusive and trusted?
🕣 Sept 16
📍 Online

Healthtech Innovation Day
🕣 Sept 17-18
📍 Paris, France

Health on Stage
🕣 Sept 19
📍Brussels, Belgium

Mental Health Innovation Network
🕣 Sept 20
📍London

SomX Healthtech Talks: Complex Systems, Complex Data: Why AI Has Arrived Late to the Biology Party
🕣 Sept 23
📍London

Technology for Universal Health Coverage (UHC): Perspectives from India and the NHS
🕣 Sept 23
📍London

HETT Show
🕣 Sept 24-25
📍London

Venture Capital Forum
🕣 Sept 25-26
📍Amsterdam

The Global Growth Engine of the Women's Health Industry
🕣 Oct 2
📍London

Sifted Summit | Healthtech Pigeon Official Summit Warm-up
🕣 Oct 2
📍London

Visit the SomX events page or subscribe to SomX’s events roundup to see all of the best upcoming healthtech, biotech and healthcare events.

Opportunities 🕵️‍♀️

🩸 Product Manager, Entia — Pigeon can’t help but root for Entia; with a focus on remote patient and analytics to support personalised cancer care, the company says it’s focused on building a world where we live healthier lives. If you’re an experienced healthcare product manager and you’ve got a way with customers, then there’s few better options for your next step.

🙈 Head of Digital Innovation Hub, Novo Nordisk – There’s no arguing Novo Nordisk is a hot property for pharma and digital health job seekers right now. With a stock (literal and reputational) that’s skyrocketed in recent years due to their success with Ozempic, as well as ‘best place to work’ and ‘Britain’s Healthiest Workplace’ titles – what’s not to like?

🥼 Digital Advanced Clinical Practitioner, Doctor Care Anywhere – ACP with a minimum of 16 hours per week to spare and great experience in primary care? Doctor Care Anywhere could be a good fit for you.

🛏️ Implementation Manager, Patchwork Health – Patchwork Health seem to be adding new customers day-in, day out; now they need someone to delight their customers in the delivery and implementation phase.

🔬 Strategic Solutions Manager, Lindus Health – Clinical trials platform Lindus Health have had a remarkable trajectory with big successes, strong customer feedback and some big names on the cap table. If you’re a life-sci clinical ops expert with the experience and expertise to lead teams and make decisions, this is the place for you. 

🩺 Director - Health Economic Modeling - NICE HTA (Health Technology Assessment), Cencora – Expert in health economic modelling? Cencora is looking for a market access expert to join its European consulting team.

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*Surprise release? Yep. Making us feel the feels? Yep. Obsessive fans can’t stop talking about it on social media? Yep. Cry all you like, but the analogy is strong.

Got news, jobs or events you think is worth coo-ing over? Let us know! Email us: news@healthtechpigeon.com

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Healthtech Pigeon is curated and produced by SomX, the communications and creative agency for healthcare. We are clinicians, scientists, creatives and communicators dedicated to serving our healthtech, biotech, pharma and public sector clients with services across strategy, content, PR, design, events and media production. Get in touch to learn more.